Pressure detector



G. A. SCHURMAN Erm. 2,772,405

Nov. 27, 195s Y PRESSURE DETECTOR 2- Sheets-Sheell l Filed March 24, 1954 Illa ' Nov. 27, 1956 PRESSURE DETECTOR 2 .Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1954 M SMMD M u @www B Qn Tw .G NSGA A 2 .5% QFD, mvm. Qn. .Ww mm. Dm, mv QV r l .QW hv mm. .mv wv. \v ,mw mw v Mv mm, m6 Ww .mv \v wv PRESSURE DETECTOR Glenn A. Schurman, Whittier, Paul M. Aagaard, Rivera, and Francis G. Blake, Fullerton, Calif., assignors to California Research Corporation, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application March 24, 1954, Serial No. 418,402

2 Claims. (Cl. 340-7) Our invention relates to a detector cable and particularly to a cable for use in seismic prospecting.

Seismic prospecting has been performed in watercovered :areas by the use of a neutral buoyancy pressure detector cable. A number of problems arise in the construction of a suitable seismic detector cable. First, the density :of the cable must be proper to provide neutral buoyancy; however, a cable which has neutral buoyancy in one body of water may sink in another body of wa-ter, since the salinity of water in various places on the earths surface varies sufciently to change the density of the Water by as much as 4 percent. Accordingly, we have found that the density of the cable must be made variable It is desirable that the detector cable be usable while it is being towed through the water. Accordingly, we have found that it is desirable that the detector cable be smooth and have a uniform cross-section so that it will not cause turbulence as it moves through the water. Such a cable must have suicient sensitivity to detect all seismic reections. We have achieved the desired degree of sensitivity to detect all seismic reections. We have achieved the desired degree of sensitivity by the use of a group of pressure detectors which are in close contact with the water.

A seismic cable which is to be towed through the water is subject to striking rough objects in the water. We have devised a strengthened covering for the detector cable, have provided for additional longitudinal strength, and have arranged the cable so that small sections of it may be replaced in the event of damage to it.

In some areas, the most effective use fof the seismic prospecting method may be made if a maximum number of seismic traces are recorded. Accordingly, we have provided a cable in which the signals from the detectors are not electrically mixed in the cable.

It is an object of our invention to provide a pressure detector cable, the density of which may easily be varied in a predetermined manner.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a detector cable having a constant volume, relatively independent of the hydrostatic pressure to which it is subjected.

lt is a further object of our invention to provide a pressure detector which is in intimate contact with the iluid, the pressure variations in which are to be determined.

It is yet another object of our invention to provide a pressure detector cable iu which a helical strengthening member maintains constant the volume of the pressure detector cable.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a passage within a pressure detector cable into which may be introduced varying amounts of iluid in order to adjust the density of the detector cable.

Another object of our invention is to provide a cylindrical pressure detector crystal which is in contact with a pressure transmitting protective envelope.

According to our invention, the density of the pressure detector cable is adjusted by the introduction of a uid 2,772,405 Patented Nov. 27, 1956 ICS into a resilient tube in the cable, :one end of which is accessible at the surface of the cable. A helical, cylindrical member maintains constant the cross-sectional area of the cable, and the detector comprises a cylindrical crystal in contact with the protective sleeve which covers the cable,

The novel features of our invention are set forth with more particularity in the accompanying claims. The invention, itself, however, with respect to the details thereof, together with its additional advantages, may be better understood from the following description of specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l shows a seismic cable in position to be used;

Fig. 2 shows schematically the arrangement `of the parts of a seismic cable;

Fig. 3 shows the internal arrangement of a seismic cable;

Fig. 4 shows a cross-section of the pressure detector element;

Fig. 5 shows a second cross-section of the pressure detector element.

As shown in Fig. l, a seismic cable 7 is towed behind a boat 9. A reel 11 on the boat 9 is attached to a buoy 13 and a paravane 15. The paravane is attached to the cable 7 and arranged to maintain a constant depth below the surface of the water. A second paravane 17 at the other end of the cable 7 maintains the rear end of the cable at a constant level below the surface. Rear buoy 19 and marker buoy 21 are attached to the rear paravane 17 by a cable 23 which has a length determined by the depth at which the cable 7 is to be towed. The cable, itself, consists of a number :of active detector sections 25 and a number of inactive sections 27. The active sections 25 contain pressure detectors which :are adapted to detect pressure variations in the water. The inactive sections 27 contain conductors which transmit signals from the detector sections.

The paravane 17 is heavy and serves as an inertia member, while the combination of rear buoy 19 and paravane 17 is slightly buoyant. The marker buoy 21 is highly buoyant. The rear buoy 19 rides at the surface of the sea as the cable is towed through the water. The inertia of the cable and paravane 17 is such that the rear buoy 19 does not ride the tops of the waves, but skims through the surface of the water on a horizontal line. In the event that the cable is completely ruptured, the buoyancy of the rear buoy 19 is insufficient to support the cable in the water. The marker buoy 21 remains on the surface :and is capable of supporting the weight of the cable, even when one section of the cable is lled with water. The marker buoy then facilitates the recovery of the cable after it has been damaged.

In operation, the cable is reeled out on the reel 11 when the boat 9 is in the vicinity which is to be explored. The paravanes 15 and 17 are `located at the desired depth below the surface of the water. The boat 9 moves over the prospect at a slow rate of speed, and a charge of explosive is detonated near the center of the cable 7. The inactive section 27 at the center of the cable serves to separate active sections 25 from the immediate vicinity of the shot in order to avoid having Ithe explosive damage the pressure detectors. The inactive sections 27 at the ends of the cable serve as terminations for the cable. Signals from the pressure detector are transmitted through a cable to the boat 9, where they are recorded. The pressure signals from each 'active section 25 of the cable 7 may be recorded separately, or signals from the various sections 25 may be mixed and recorded.

Fig. 2 shows in more detail the electrical arrangement of the cable. Since in our preferred embodiment of our invention we employ a piezoelectric crystal, the detectors are shown as capacitors 29. A number of detectors are connected in parallel in .order to achieve the `desired vsensitivity to pressure variations. An impedance matching transformer 31 is connected to the detectors. Two wires from the transformer 31 lead to the female connector 33. A bundle of wires 35 conducts signals from the male .connector 37 to the female connector 33 of the detector cable. By means of the connectors 33 ,and 37, series of pressure detector cables may be connected together. The lnactive sections 27 do not contain detectors.

Fig. 3 shows in more detail the arrangement of our pressure detector cable. The male connector 37 is affixed to a cylindrical tube 39. This tube must be strong enough to resist abrasion by coral and other objects which are found in the sea. It Vmust also have acoustic properties such that it causes a minimum of attenuation of acoustic waves between the sea and the interior of the cable. Located at several points within the cable are pressure detectors 41. A bundle of wires 43 passes through the cable from the male connector 37 to the female connector 33. A pair of wires from the bundle of wires 43 is tapped at each pressure detector 41 to provide a signal which passes to the connector 33. At intervals within the cable are spacer members 45 which are sized to t snugly within the tube 39. Between the spacer members 45 are metal helical members 47 which are also sized to fit snugly within the tube 39.

The pressure detector cable contains a number of metal elements, such as the bundle of wires 43, and other elements, such as the detectors 41, the size of Which are determined by the electrical requirements of the circuit. it is desired that the cable have neutral buoyancy in Sea water. Accordingly, the interior of the cable must have a minimum of heavy material, other than that essential to the electrical operation of the detector. Thus, it is not desirable to till the interior of the cable with a uid or with strengthening members, since they would be likely to increase the density of the cable to a value greater than that of sea water. Accordingly, we use the helical member 47 which may take the form of a steel spring. The helical member 47 is intended to withstand radial forces on the cable and is insulated from axial forces along the cable by the spacer members 45. Further, we have found that it is important to the efficient use of such a cable that it be sufficiently flexible .to be reeled on the drum 11 shown in Fig. l. The helical member 47 has great flexibility as regards bending of the cable, but has rigidity as regards axial pressure .on the cable. Thus, it maintains a constant cross-section on the cable despite variations in pressure on the cable which may arise from the cables use at varying depths below the surface of the sea. The helical member 47 also provides radial rigidity which prevents the cables acting as a pressure release surface adjacent to the crystals and thus prevents a corresponding reduction in sensitivity. Our cable is intended to be usable for detecting seismic signals while it is in motion through the water behind a towing boat. A pressure detector, such as the crystal 41, cannot discriminate between pressure Variations due to water turbulence and pressure variations due to the arrival of seismic signals. In seismic prospecting, the seismic signal provides valuable information, while water turbulence is characterized as noise. Accordingly, our cable is smooth and has the same cross-section throughout its entire length. The connectors 33 and 37 are of the same cross-section as the tube 39. The helical members 47 and the spacer members 45 maintain constant the cross-section of the cable throughout its length. Thus, the cable causes a minimum of water turbulence as it is towed behind the boat.

The interior of the cable, where it is not occupied by elements essential to the pressure-detecting and volumecontrolling elements, is iilled with air or another light uid. A resilient tube 49 passes from an opening 51 in the connector 37 through the tube to a termination at the spacer member 45. Oil lmay be introduced through the opening 51 to fill the tube 49 and thereby increase the weight of the seismic cable. the tube 49 may be varied from an amount which stretches the tube 49 to an amount which leaves the tube 49 partly collapsed. The opening 51 is readily accessible without entering the seismic cable, and oil may be introduced to the tube 49 when the cable is moved to a new body of water, when the cable is used near the mouth of a river emptying into a body of salt water, or when the density of the sea water changes suiciently to require a change in the density of the seismic cable. The tube .49 may also be used as a means of permanently adjusting vthe density of the seismic cable, since it may be filled with a fluid either denser or kless dense than the fluid within the remainder of the cable. Thus, the density of the cable may be either increased or decreased on a permanent basis by the use of the tube 49.

The notches 38 on the connectors 33 and 37 are lled by a face plate which covers the connectors when two sections of seismic cable are joined. Thus, the connector itself affords no irregularities which can cause turbulence in the water.

The details of the crystal assembly are shown in Fig. 4. Through the center of the crystal runs the bundle of conductors 43. In the preferred embodiment of our invention, we prefer to use 72 conductors which are to be connected to 36 groups of crystals. In one cable section, a pair of wires 51 and 53 are separated from the bundle and connect to the crystals in parallel. The conductor 51 is connected to a contact 55, the head of which is shown in Fig. 5. which is in pressure contact with the inner face of a piezoelectric crystal 59. Both the inner and outer faces of the crystal 59 are coated with a conductive silver compound. The resilient member 57 thus forms a connection between the conductor 51 and the inner surface of the crystal 59. The conductor 53 is connected to the outer surface of the crystal 59. The crystal 59 is a hollow cylinder, preferably of barium titanate. The crystal is supported at its ends by the end members 61, and the entire crystal assembly is coated with rubber or an artificial rubber such as Neoprene, and the Neoprene coating of the crystal assembly is in intimate contact with the tube 39. Thus, the crystal has first a coating 63 of a silver compound, kthen a coating 65 of Neoprene, then a protec tive cover 39 of reinforced Neoprene tubing. The inner surface of the crystal 59 is unsupported, except at Athe edges by the positioning members 67. In the center of the crystal assembly is the bundle of conductors 43 and four strength members 50. The resilient tube 49 also passes through the center of the crystal. The tube 49 has a larger diameter in the portion of the tube 39 between the crystals than it has as it passes through the crystals. The tube 49 is used primarily to increase the density of the cable section and is not needed as much to perform this function in the vicinity of the crystal, since the crystal, itself, increases the density of the cable section. It is to be noted that the conductors 51 and 53 merely branch to form a connection'with the crystal 59. These same conductors connect with nine other crystals in the same cable section, thus connecting the crystals in parallel. TheV use of several crystals increases the power sensitivityof a detector by adding the signals from the various crystals and extends the line over which the seismic signals are mixed within the cable. Extending the crystals Yover a fifty-foot interval tends to cancel noise induced by turbulence and action of the water waves. Cancellation of noise due to shallow in homogeneities may be achieved by mixing the signals from more than one fifty-foot lsection as the signals are recorded at the boat.

Preferably, the tube or casing of our seismic cable is of a polychloroprenc rubber such as Neoprene impregnated with a fabric of a synthetic fiber-forming polymeric amide having a protein-like chemical structure such as nylon. Such constituents are believed to provide great The amount .of oil withinY The contact 55 secures a resilient member 57` strength and toughness, but our invention is not to be limited to such construction.

While we have described our invention with reference to a single embodiment, we are aware that many modications thereof may be made without departing from the scope of our invention. We do not intend, therefore, to limit our invention except as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. For use in seismic prospecting in which a streamer is towed behind a boat, the combination comprising a fiber-reinforced tube of a tiexible plastic, said tube having substantially the same cross section throughout its length, a plurality of cylindrical piezoelectric crystals each having an outer diameter substantially the same as the inside diameter of said tube and having a hollow central portion, a conductive metallic coating on both the inside and outside surfaces of said crystals, respective conductors leading from said coatings to a recorder on said boat, said conductors passing through the central portion of crystals intervening between said boat and the crystal to which the conductor is connected.

2. For use in seismic prospecting in which a streamer is towed behind a boat, the combination comprising a exible resilient tube, said tube having substantially the same cross section throughout its length, a plurality of piezoelectric crystals spaced along said tube, each of said crystals being cylindrical and having a hollow central portion, said crystals having intimate physical contact with the inside surface of said tube, whereby acoustic waves pass through the wall of said tube to said crystal, means providing radial support for said crystals at the ends of said crystals, strengthening members disposed to pass through said crystals to provide longitudinal strengthening for said cable, a conductive inner and outer coating on said crystals and conductors disposed to carry current from said coatings through the hollow portion of said crystals to a recorder and substantially rigid means for isolating said strengthening members from said crystals.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,465,696 Paslay Mar. 29, 1949 2,618,698 Janssen Nov. 18, 1952 2,638,577 Harris May 12, 1953 2,708,742 Harris May 17. 1955 

